Hybrid Cities Revolutionize the Streets

Local efforts boost hybrid vehicle use around the country

Rose Miller Utne.com

| September 1, 2005

As the Feds scoff at the Kyoto Protocol, local and state
governments have been meeting climate change face-to-face with a
host of pollution-reducing programs, including increasing the
number of hybrid-electric vehicles on the streets.

Many US cities have featured at least one natural gas-powered
bus for quite some years, but it is only recently that they've
begun integrating hybrid-electric vehicles into their public
transportation systems. New York City brought hybrid busses onto
its streets in 1998; currently, there are 180 of them in the
city's ever-expanding fleet of green vehicles.

State and local governments are taking the hybrid message to
their constituents as well. They know Americans love to drive their
own cars, so they're developing incentives to encourage individuals
to go hybrid. Last September, California passed a law that would
allow up to 75,000 hybrid car drivers to use carpool lanes with or
without passengers, if federal regulations are changed. Arizona,
Connecticut, and Georgia are developing similar legislation, the
Associated
Press reports. Meanwhile, Eugene, Oregon, is following in
the footsteps of Aspen, Colorado, by considering offering hybrid
owners parking perks in city and residential areas, according to
the
Eugene
Weekly.